Cold weather question

[JewellFarm]

Katherine, I am in SW VA, and I have no plans of running any type of heat in my coops. I'm sure yours will be fine as well. Our winters are generally pretty mild.

 

[emvickrey]

Our coop is mostly open in all weather but winter. DH closes it up. We do out best to make sure there are no drafts but at the top where the roof is there is room for it to vent. The vapors from the chickens can get out and they don't have to live in a really stinky home all winter. Last winter, DH put in a couple of temporary windows that came out of an old trailer so they would have light. Before that it was pitch dark except for the storm door that has glass. We put a florescent light in that winter. Their water only froze a couple of times and it was a thin layer. I put the heal of my shoe through it. We check their water twice a day in winter and more on the colder days to make sure they can get water and not ice. This year they have a run they can go out in. We plan to cover it up except for a big enough doorway for them to go out if they want on nicer days but we can close it at night to keep out a draft. Where the door is now used to be where the storm door was before we put on the run. So its a pretty large opening right now. We also cover the floor with straw or hay. A whole square bale. Our coop is 6' x 14' and it holds 11 chickens. Only 3 of them are standard sized. The rest are banty breeds. We have a pen that is holding some roos we got recently. The pens will be their winter homes. We will most likely put heat lamps in them and close them up. There is 1 silkie in 1 side and a silkie and frizzle in the other side. Not enough to stay warm with body heat.

 

[LynneP]

I think your chickens will be fine- this is what we do up north

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=7693-seasonal-concerns

 

[katherine712]

Thanks, everyone!! I was worried, I don't want to have frozen chickens!!!

 

[patricium]

I think it depends on how many chickens you have. Five might not be enough to keep themselves warm. But I'm one of those chicken-mommas who has pets not farm animals. ;-)

Our eight (5 bantams and 3 full size, who are about three months old now) will be spending the western new york winter in an Eglu in our garage where it's relatively draft free. And we'll probably add a heater pad or equivalent because we'll feel sorry for them.

I do know they've really started to like snuggling on my lap now that it's 50 degrees and not 60.

 

[ozark hen]

Here in southern Missouri, we have ice storms, little snow. We have a draft free but well ventilated coop. 6-8 inches of shavings on the floor. Only use a 60 or 75 watt bulb HANGING OVER WATERER if the temp gets below freezing. chickens do fine. They put out a lot of body heat.

 

[nancysmith2]

Well, I am feeling rather silly. I was about to ask the same Q. I live in Alabama. Ha! I have been putting a light on my 5 wk old babies b/c it was 50 last night. I was afraid their not quite full feathers would not be enough. So I guess I can turn off the light?

 

[Momo]

LOL - my 5 and 6 week olds get a heat lamp at night because we've been getting frost (and they're not fully feathered). During the day it's between what would be 50-60 degrees F and they run around all day with no heat and not a care in the world. Mind you, they've been slowly acclimated to the changing temps since they were 2 weeks old...

 

[chickbird]

i know chickens my be able to stay alive in cold weather, but me i just can,t bare to see something i've hand raised being cold or just existing when it is 30 degrees or less. i just keep thinking of how i would feel in this situation. just my thoughts. chickens are dependent upon their owners.

 

[SimplyForties]

Quote:
Chickens have a much higher natural temperature than people do. So what are the chickens doing that makes you think they are cold?